For years celebrities have been involved with politics, whether it’s to voice their opinion on a certain issue or to endorse a presidential candidate’s campaign. While this may seem like a good idea for politicians to increase their votes, more harm than good can come from this practice. Despite their platform, celebrities are just normal people when it comes to their political views. Just like the average American voter, their opinions reflect their personal views. I believe that people should be more cautious when listening to what their favorite celebrity has to say about politics and to not be swayed by their point of view.
Polling done by The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 showed that only 25% of people believe that celebrities influenced their last vote. However, five years later when they did the same poll 45% of people believed that celebrities were influencing their political stance. This shows how when social media’s popularity grew, people were eager to listen to everything their favorite celebrities had to say, and were quickly influenced by their political views.
Especially today with people able to share all of their opinions on social media, we get lost in celebrities’ opinions who we often forget don’t have any background in politics. If we let ourselves get swayed by our favorite celebrities, there is a big possibility that we’ll end up voting for someone who we might not normally vote for. It’s important to stick to our own political beliefs and to not be influenced by anyone outside the world of politics. It’s important to note that celebrities have the right to freedom of speech just like the rest of us do. But they do have much larger platforms than the average person, so it’s important for them to be well informed on what they are speaking about.
Celebrities have had an influence on politics for years, and their involvement has only gotten bigger as social media has grown in popularity. Celebrities have online platforms they never had access to before, such as Instagram and TikTok. These platforms have caused many more people to be swayed by celebrity influence.
Since the beginning of the Hamas’ attacks on Israel many stars have been eager to spread their view on it and influence their fans. Many stars including Josh Gad, Madonna, Gal Gadot and Kylie Jenner have shared their support for those killed or taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. However, they were quickly criticized and even threatened for having what was perceived by the public as an anti-Palestinian stance. Kylie Jenner ended up deleting her post which shared a photo of an Israeli flag with the caption “SHARE if you stand with the people of Israel as they face one of the most frightening situations in many years.” Many celebrities have also spoken out in their support of Palestine including Lizzo who has posted several videos speaking about her support. While it’s ok for these stars to be speaking their opinions, it’s important for them to remember how big of an audience they have listening. Many of them end up being misinformed on political issues and end up giving their audience fake news which they end up believing.
Over the recent years many popular stars have endorsed political campaigns over the years including Taylor Swift and Dwayne Johnson who endorsed Biden in the 2020 presidential election. While this endorsement is good for Biden, many people have been convinced to vote for him under false ideas about him that have been spread through celebrities. The same thing is happening for Trump, with Kanye West supporting him. In 2024 West reinforced his support for Trump, and has admitted to attempting to sway liberal voters. No one is checking the legitimacy of anything these stars are saying so many people end up voting for someone under preconceived notions of what they stand for.
Indresh Chandel